Stick to your plan (even if it’s not necessarily the best plan). That’s the lesson of this commentary, in which Sun begins building a moyo only to switch horses in mid-stream. Li Ting 1P (with an assist by Ryo Maeda 6P), shows the costs of inconsistency.

Celmer, Castanza and Smith Win in AGA Board ElectionsPaul Celmer edged out Zhiyuan ‘Edward’ Zhang for the Eastern seat on the AGA’s Board of Directors in the just-concluded election; Celmer received 26 votes, or 53%, to 22 – or 44% — for Zhang. Gordon Castanza (Western) and Daniel Smith (central) were unopposed and won with 92% and 87%, respectively.

The North American Ing Masters (NAIM) Championship is the North American continental championship. Featured in a variety of formats over the years, this year’s tournament — which kicked off Sunday night at the U.S. Go Congress — is a 16-person, 4-round Swiss tournament that will determine the North American Masters Champion. This tournament is invitation only, and participants are determined by qualification tournaments played over the six months before Congress begins.

Qualification: All players must be rated 4 dan or higher, be eligible to represent the US internationally, and have earned enough points through qualifier competitions to be listed in the top 16 eligible, interested players.

Calvin Sun 7d and Aaron Ye 4d both won their first round matches in the Redmond Cup this afternoon. Sun, who is 14, battled Gansheng Shi 7d, age 17, in the senior division, while Ye (at left above) squared off against Sammy Zhang 4d (at right) in the Junior Division. Ye, who is only 9 years old, took his afternoon nap before the 3 pm match against Zhang, who is 11. The games were broadcast live on KGS, and Redmond Meijin Curtis Tang 7d, provided live commentary. Tang, who has won the Redmond Cup five times, has competed against both Sun and Shi, and knows their styles well. Hundreds of observers checked out the action in the English Game Room, where E-J staff broadcast the games on USGO1, 2, and 3. Tangs commentary is attached in this game, the Jr. Division match is up on the congress crosstab. Round 2 will be at 3 pm PST on Tuesday, Aug. 2, again with commentary by Tang, the third round will be on Thursday the 4th, at 3 pm. – Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo: Aaron Ye 4d 9 (l) vs. Sammy Zhang (r) while Redmond Cup founder None Redmond looks on.

(7/31/2011; 10a PST) The first round of the 2011 U.S. Open is now underway at the U.S. Go Congress in Santa Barbara, CA, with the top three boards being broadcast live on KGS every morning starting around 9a PST. Pairings and game records — including game commentaries — can be found online. Check back for updated pairings, results and game records throughout the week!

The American Go E-Journal’s live broadcasts on Day One – Sunday, July 31 — of the 2011 U.S. Go Congress include:
- U.S. Open: top boards in Round 1 will be broadcast live on KGS starting around 9a PST (12 noon EST)
- Redmond Cup: the four finalists in the 2011 Redmond Cup will compete live from the U.S. Go Congress in a special E-Journal broadcast at 3p PST (6p EST) Sunday on KGS. The players are Gansheng Shi 7d vs. Calvin Sun 7d and Aaron Ye 4d vs. Sammy Zhang 3d.
- North American Ing Masters: top boards in this 16-player tournament will be broadcast live on KGS starting at 7p PST.photo: Calvin Sun (l) plays Gangshen Shi in the 9×9 tournament Saturday night; photo by Steve Colburn

Now you can follow all the action at the 2011 U.S. Go Congress — which runs July 31-August 6 in Santa Barbara CA — in a number of ways:
- AGA website: we’ll be posting updates each day throughout the week, including news, photos and games
- E-Journal: daily reports drawn from the previous day’s website posts
- Twitter: follow us @gocongress for updates by the EJ’s Steve Colburn
- KGS: top boards at the U.S. Open every morning and top boards at the Ing Masters every nightPhoto: American Go Association President Allan Abramson (r) enjoys a casual game Saturday morning as the 2011 U.S. Congress gets started on the UCSB campus in Santa Barbara, CA. photo by Steve Calburn.

The 2011 US Go Congress begins Saturday in Santa Barbara, CA, but attendees are already arriving from around the world. “This year, many attendees have opted to arrive early and enjoy the air, the beach, and the other go players before anything official starts,” says Congress Co-Director Andrew Jackson (at left, playing the UK’s Francis Roads on Friday night). “They are as excited as we are to greet the 20 attending professionals and nearly 500 fellow go enthusiasts who will be coming to Santa Barbara this year.” Not signed up yet? It’s not too late; click here for details and to register.- photo by Chris Garlock